County to buy 55 voting machines

NEW PHILADELPHIA Before the year ends, the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections has to purchase 55 voting machines to be in compliance with state law. Monday the Tuscarawas County Commissioners approved more than $35,000 in transfers from various funds to cover the cost.

NEW PHILADELPHIA Before the year ends, the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections has to purchase 55 voting machines to be in compliance with state law. Monday the Tuscarawas County Commissioners approved more than $35,000 in transfers from various funds to cover the cost.

Sarah Kneuss, the board's deputy director, said the machines will be ready and available in 2014 in time for the gubernatorial election. She said it isn't necessary to have them in time for next week's election.

Kneuss said the county made big purchases in 2005, purchasing several electronic machines to be compliant with the law.

"We have to have one machine for every 175 registered voters in a precinct," she explained.

Kneuss said the number of voters has increased since then, and there's an increased need. Ohio law requires the Board of Elections to have the equipment in place by Dec. 31, 2013, Kneuss said.

This mandate for more voting machines came from Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who informed all county boards of elections, in September, that they were required to make the additional purchases by the end of the year. Husted said the calculation is good through Dec. 31, 2020, and will change again in 2021.

He said the electronic voting machines must be in good working order, fully licensed, operational and ready to be used. The voting system census must be returned to the Elections Division by Jan. 10, 2014.

In a letter to the commissioners, Board of Elections Director Chuck Miller said he found reconditioned machines at $500 each. He added that the black boxes used to store and transport the printer housings and related equipment would come to approximately $6,600. However, that would not cover the cost of storage or shipping and handling.

Miller added that the board does not have funding for equipment, which is why the commissioners needed to address the issue, transferring $35,860 for all expenditures related to the machines.